The city of Pafos is also known as Paphos. And Baf. And Gazibaf. And Ktima. And Kasaba. Every place on Cyprus, it seems, has two or more names.

A crossing point I used between Cyprus and northern Cyprus is known as Zohdia, Astromeritis, Morpho, Morfu, Güzelyurt, Omorfo, and Morfou. Seven names for one place.

Some places (Ktima, for example) retain their ancient names. Some have locally known names that are still honored. In northern Cyprus, place names were changed from Greek to Turkish, following the 1974 invasion by Turkey, and are known by both.

During football season, Buckeye fans in central Ohio sometimes refer to the state to the north as, well, “that state up north.” A much more serious version of this intentional slight is playing out on the island of Cyprus. On the plane to Larnaka, I sat next to a Cypriot woman who taught me a few Greek words. Hello, thank-you, and so on. She asked where on the island I was planning to visit. When I mentioned a couple of towns in the north, her face darkened. “You mean the occupied territory.”

Cyprus is a small island, roughly 150 miles from east to west and sixty miles from north to south. It is strategically situated at the far east of the Mediterranean Sea at the crossroads between Europe, Africa, and Asia. (Only sixty-five miles from Syria!) As a result of its central location, Cyprus was fought over and ruled by nearly every great empire—the Assyrians, Persians, Greeks, Phoenicians, Athenians, Egyptians, Romans, Byzantines, Knights of Templar, Franks, Venetians, Ottomans, and British—and I’m likely leaving a few out.